LOCAL SPOTLIGHT: Meet Zubair Abubakar: Nigeria’s Local Tech Hero

Zubair Abubakar is a tech pioneer who has focused his career on making technology useful and fun for Nigerians. He is best known for two major things: giving people easy access to the law and creating games that feel like home.

Here is a simple breakdown of his work:

1. The Nigerian Constitution App

Before he was famous for games, Zubair did something very important for democracy. He created a mobile app that put the entire Nigerian Constitution on a smartphone.

Before this, most Nigerians had never read the constitution because the books were hard to find.

His app was downloaded over a million times, helping everyday people understand their rights for the first time.

2. ChopUp Games

Zubair co-founded a company called ChopUp. He noticed that most mobile games were about foreign things, so he decided to make games that looked and felt like Nigeria.

Danfo Reloaded: Instead of racing Ferraris, you drive a yellow Lagos bus (Danfo), dodging traffic and “agberos.”

Table Soccer: He turned the classic Nigerian childhood game played with bottle caps into a digital game.

Sambisa Assault: A game created to reflect the bravery of the Nigerian military.

3. Education Through Fun

Zubair also uses tech to solve real-world problems. For example, during the Ebola crisis, he launched a game called Ebola Strikeforce. It taught players how to stay safe and prevent the virus while they played, proving that tech can be both entertaining and life-saving.

Why is his work special?

Zubair is celebrated because he didn’t just copy Western tech. He looked at Nigerian culture—our laws, our streets, and our childhood games—and used technology to bring them to life on our phone screens.